advice needed

In may 2012 my daughter disclosed that my "dad" (I use the term very loosely) had been sexually abusing her so I reported him to the police, I had a phone call off the police the other day to say that cps have decided there is enough evidence to charge him on 6 counts relating to my daughter and 7 relating to my sister (my sister made a separate claim) the police woman on the phone said that they will be charging him when he answers bail (7th) and that he will have to go to magistrates court approximately 2 weeks after he is charged.

What I was wondering is will I be able to request that they keep him locked up until he has to appear in court as I am worried he will either try to run away or attempt suicide?

hi there.Briefly he will prob get police bail to appear at magistrates and from there he will be sent to Crown Court either for trial or sentence. There is a presumption of bail and the prosecution will have to have strong argument for the magistrates or judge at Crown to refuse him bail. From what you say at least, it looks like bail is likely.

As for sentence, it depends what he has been charged with exactly. But a lengthy time in prison is the likely outcome. During his time in custody and as and when he is eventually released your family and you will be consulted and kept informed about his movement through the prison system and his whereabouts on release. You can request, and he will be given a no-contact condition and probably an exclusion zone from where ever you live and work.

thanks it is in his bail conditions that he is not allowed to contact me, my sister or our children (dds 11 & 7 and nephew 7) so hopefully it will be extended if he does get locked up and then again on his release

Sorry, the no contact and exclusion zone will also operate for your sister. I say 'you' as you are the guardian of daughter, and presuming she is still living with you your address and place of work (and her school place of work eventually?) will be included.

also wondering if anyone knows what kind of sentences these offences normally get

WARNING - this post MAY be triggering but I have tried to write it in such a way that it isn't.

It largely depends on exactly what was done and how often. It also depends if your daughter and sister were over or under the age of 13 at the time.

I obviously won't go into detail as - believe me - I can empathise with you. The starting point for the very mildest thing would be 12 months if she was over 13 or 2 years if under 13.

The sentences get progressively more severe depending on what has happened. Going up to 15 years for the worst cases.

There are also what are called ''aggravating factors'' and ''mitigating factors''. Any aggravating factors would lead to a longer sentence on top of the figures given above. So, for example, the fact that there were multiple victims would be an aggravating factor as would multiple offences over an extended period. Also, the age difference is also taken into account. Eg, a grandfather is treated much more harshly than, say, a 15 year old boy would be.

In the case of your sister, as this is - presumably - a historic case, he would be treated under the law as it was at the time that the offences took place. You should be aware that even ten years ago the sentencing guidelines were for a lot shorter sentences than they are nowadays.

Do be aware that whatever sentence he receives, he will then be released on licence when he has completed 50% of it. So, for a 5 year sentence he will be released after 2 1/2 years and spend the remaining 2 1/2 years on probation.

However, having said that, since this is a sexual offence the probation service will place very severe restrictions on what he is allowed to do, where he can go and who he can talk to. He will also be made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order - SOPO - that will place VERY severe restrictions on him and he will have the police checking up on him regularly.

No he does not have alternative accommodation, my gran has a spare room but I doubt he would ask if he could stay there as she would ask why and then he would have to explain the circumstances (I refuse to tell his side of the family as I feel it should come from him)

No he does not have alternative accommodation, my gran has a spare room but I doubt he would ask if he could stay there as she would ask why and then he would have to explain the circumstances (I refuse to tell his side of the family as I feel it should come from him)